A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's. Chapter 88: it’s not funny

Maria.

For a single, foolish heartbeat, I thought Anabel was the surprise Noah had been so eager to show .

That maybe this—her—was what he had ant. That this was so poorly thought-out attempt to explain sothing, to confront sothing, to fix sothing between them with standing awkwardly in the middle.

But that illusion shattered the mont Noah spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

The words were sharp, stunned, nothing like the warm excitent he had worn just monts earlier. They weren’t ant for . They were ant for her.

Anabel’s lips curved slowly, incredulously, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She took a step toward him, her movents controlled, deliberate, every inch of her posture screaming wounded pride.

"What am I doing here?" she echoed, her voice rising. "Noah, are you seriously asking that?" Her eyes flicked briefly to , cold and assessing, before returning to him. "Or are you asking because you decided to bring this rogue into your room?"

Her gaze slid back to again, this ti with open disdain. I felt it like a slap, like my skin had been peeled open and exposed.

"She is nothing more than a trophy every Alpha wants to claim," Anabel continued, her tone venomously calm. "Don’t you know what she is?" Her lips curled. "A whore."

The word hit hard, knocking the air from my lungs.

She stepped even closer to Noah now, close enough that I could see the intensity in her eyes as she searched his face. "I know you’re confused. I know whatever you think you feel for her seems real right now." She reached for him, desperation threading through her voice. "But it’s a fling, Noah. That’s all it is. It will fade. It always does."

I stood frozen, my hands clenched at my sides, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure they could hear it. From the way Anabel spoke, from the tension hanging thickly between them, it was clear this wasn’t the beginning of a fight.

It was the aftermath of one.

And sohow, I had walked straight into the wreckage.

Noah’s jaw tightened. His body stiffened, every trace of hesitation draining from his face as sothing firm and unyielding settled into his expression.

"Get out, Anabel."

The command was imdiate. Final.

She blinked, startled.

"Leave my room," he repeated, his voice louder now, sharper. He stretched his arm toward the door, his finger pointing unmistakably in its direction. "And don’t you dare go crawling to your brothers. It won’t work this ti."

The words struck harder than any shout could have.

Anabel’s shoulders sagged, the fire in her eyes dimming as defeat crept into her posture. For the first ti since she spoke, she looked... small.

"Noah," she said softly, her voice breaking as she reached for his hand. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did earlier." Her fingers curled around his wrist, her eyes glistening. "Please don’t try to spite by bringing this rogue into your room. Not like this."

Her grip tightened, as if holding onto him might anchor her, might undo what had already been said.

Noah didn’t look at her.

"Leave, Anabel," he replied coldly. "I don’t want to get mad."

The warning was quiet, but it carried weight, final and irreversible.

For a mont, she hesitated, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say more. Then slowly, she let go. Her hand fell back to her side, her face hardening as she straightened.

Without another word, she turned and walked toward the door.

As she passed , her shoulder brushed against mine, deliberate, sharp, filled with resentnt. I swayed slightly from the impact, my chest tightening as the door opened and closed behind her with a dull thud.

Silence followed.

Thick, heavy and unforgiving.

I remained standing where I was, my mind spinning, my heart aching in ways I couldn’t na. I felt exposed, humiliated, painfully aware of my place in this room and in their world.

Whatever Noah had intended as a surprise had unraveled into sothing far more complicated.

"Did you both get into a fight?" I asked, my voice cutting through the heavy silence that had settled in the room.

Noah turned to almost imdiately, as if he had been waiting for any excuse to steer the conversation away from what had just happened. His expression softened, the sharp edge in his eyes fading.

"It’s nothing to worry about, Maria," he said gently. "You shouldn’t let her behavior bother you. I apologize on her behalf." He paused, then added lightly, "She’s still a kid."

A kid?

The word echoed in my head, loud and unsettling. I frowned slightly, studying his face, wondering if he was serious or simply trying to brush everything aside. From where I stood, Anabel didn’t look like a child. She carried herself with too much confidence, too much entitlent. And if I was being honest, we were about the sa age.

Did he see as a child too?

"She isn’t a kid, Noah," I said quietly, choosing my words carefully. "I think she’s just spoiled... like my step-sister, Patricia. Their behavior is way too similar."

The mont the na left my lips, a familiar heaviness settled in my chest. mories stirred, unwanted, sharp-edged, and bitter.

Noah’s lips twitched, and before I could stop him, he let out a small chuckle.

"If you say so," he replied. "But I think your sister is even more spoiled than Anabel." His eyes lit up with amusent. "I still rember the day she lost her locket at the Academy and decided to take yours instead."

Before I could react, he burst out laughing.

The sound rang in my ears, too loud, too careless.

I didn’t laugh.

I couldn’t.

That day wasn’t funny. It had never been funny. The humiliation, the accusations, the way everyone had looked at like I was the one who had stolen sothing that belonged to in the first place, it was a mory I had buried deep, one I never wanted dragged back into the light.

My fingers curled slowly into fists at my sides.

"Stop it, Noah," I said, my voice firm despite the tightness in my throat. "It’s not funny."

He paused, but only for a second.

"I’m sorry," he said, though he was still laughing softly. "But honestly, that day was..."

"Enough." I glared at him, my eyes burning. "It wasn’t funny to ."

That did it.

Noah raised both his hands in surrender, his laughter finally fading as he took a step back. "Alright, alright," he said quickly. "I won’t talk about it again. I promise."

I watched him closely, making sure he ant it. When I didn’t respond, he shifted, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"Now," he said, his voice taking on a playful tone, "close your eyes."

I hesitated.

"What?" I asked, suspicious.

"Just trust ," he insisted, smiling. "Close them."

After a brief pause, I sighed and slowly shut my eyes. Darkness enveloped , and suddenly I was acutely aware of every sound, the soft rustle of fabric, his footsteps moving away, the faint scrape of sothing being adjusted.

My heart began to pound.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Patience," he replied. "Almost there."

I stood still, my hands clenched nervously in front of . A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, each more uncertain than the last. I wondered if this was the surprise he had been talking about, and whether I even wanted to see it anymore.

"Okay," Noah finally said. "You can open them now."

I did.

"Surprise!" he echoed.

My breath caught instantly.

I gasped, my eyes widening as they took in what was in front of . For a mont, I forgot how to speak, forgot how to move. Shock rooted in place as my mind struggled to process what I was seeing.

I stared, blinking once... twice... just to be sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on .

"This..." I whispered, my voice barely audible. "This is..."

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Emotion swelled in my chest, warm and overwhelming, pressing against places that had been empty for far too long. Whatever I had expected, it hadn’t been this. And for the first ti since walking into his room, the tight knot in my stomach loosened just a little.

Noah watched closely, his earlier tension replaced with quiet anticipation, as if he was waiting to see whether the surprise had done its job.

And standing there, heart racing, breath uneven, all I could do was stare, completely and utterly stunned.